Ethiopian volcano erupts after 12,000-year dormancy; what we know so far

A volcano in Ethiopia's northeastern region erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, sending thick plumes of smoke up to 14 kilometres (nine miles) into the sky, the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) said.

The Hayli Gubbi volcano, located in Ethiopia's Afar region about 800 kilometres (500 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa near the Eritrean border, erupted on Sunday for several hours. 

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The volcano, which rises about 500 metres in altitude, sits within the Rift Valley, a zone of intense geological activity where two tectonic plates meet. Ash clouds from the volcano drifted over Yemen, Oman, India, and northern Pakistan, the VAAC said.

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The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program said Hayli Gubbi has had no known eruptions during the Holocene, which began around 12,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age.

Simon Carn, a volcanologist and professor at the Michigan Technological University, confirmed on Bluesky that Hayli Gubbi "has no record of Holocene eruptions".

Volcanic ash

The rare eruption has resulted in a volcanic ash that moved towards the east over the southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Environment authorities in Oman and Saudi Arabia said they are closely monitoring the situation, while resassuring the public that no direct impact was recorded.

On Monday, the Oman Environment Authority confirmed detecting some volcanic ash over parts of the Empty Quarter and portions of the Arabian Sea at an altitude of 35,000 feet.

In its latest update on the matter, the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) said that the eruption has stopped and that the ash cloud was moving towards China.